Venugopal S Hegde is a professional flautist based out of the capital city of India, New Delhi. He is an acclaimed artist who is known for his pure classical rendition of ragas. The way he plays the flute reveals a peculiar style which is a synthesis of his wealth of experience, vibrant imagination, and spiritual inclination. He started learning the flute from Pt Ramchandra Kulkarni. Since then, he has been passionately pursuing music. In the later years, he was taught music from Vidushi Kishori Amonkar, Pt Babanrao Haldankar, and Pandit Nityanand Haldipur. His style of playing comes from the renowned Maihar-Senia gharana. His gayaki-ang (vocal style) and tantrakari-ang (instrumental style) make his presentations a treat to watch. His dhrupad-ang alaaps and distinctly-formatted jodas are serene and introspective. Performing for the last 17 years now, Hegde has travelled extensively throughout his career. He has been featured at many prestigious venues for Indian classical music. He received the first position at the national level AIR music competition in 2002 and is now an All India Radio accredited artist. He has been awarded top prizes at many national-level youth festivals in India. He also received the ITC Sangeet Research Academy Mumbai award for promising artists in Indian music. Venugopal also teaches flute to his students who are now giving individual concerts. He received 'Samskritika Guru' award in recognition for his contribution in the field of teaching. He founded the Nandanavana Bansuri Music Academy in 2011, with a vision of providing a platform to learn Indian classical flute. Performances: Mallikarjun Mansur Sangeet Sammelan Sawai Gandharva Sangeet Sammelan Dharwad Bangalore Lucknow Pune Mumbai Delhi Jamshedpur Chennai Trivandrum